A pharmacist is diluting the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine as it prepares to be administered to staff and residents at Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads, an elderly community in Falls Church, Virginia, on December 30, 2020.
Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images
The Covid-19 vaccine appears to cause severe allergic reactions at a significantly higher rate than other vaccines in the first wave of Americans who received life-saving immunizations, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.
Although still rare, the CDC said there were 21 cases of anaphylaxis – a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction that rarely occurs after vaccination – of the nearly 1.9 million people who received the first vaccine with the vaccine. Pfizer Covid-19 in -December, according to a study published Wednesday in the CDC’s weekly report on morbidity and mortality.
That would mean that about 11 people in every million vaccinated would probably have anaphylaxis, according to CDC data – about 10 times larger than the flu vaccine.
Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters at a conference that inoculations are safe for public use, and severe – albeit greater – allergic reactions are still considered rare.
“The rate of anaphylaxis for Covid-19 vaccines may seem high compared to flu vaccines, but I want to assure you that this is still a rare outcome,” Messonnier said in the appeal before launching the study. She added that the data apply to both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which use similar mRNA technology.
Of the 21 people who had severe allergic reactions, 17 had a documented history of allergies or allergic reactions. The study found that seven of those people had a history of anaphylaxis.
Most people have symptoms within 15 minutes of receiving the vaccine, although anaphylaxis can occur within hours of vaccinating someone, the CDC said. Of the 20 people with follow-up information available, all were recovered or discharged at home, the study found.
Most people experience symptoms within 15 minutes of receiving the vaccine, although anaphylaxis can occur within hours of vaccinating someone, the CDC said. Of the 20 people with follow-up information available, all recovered or were discharged at home, the study found.
“Of course, we all hope that any vaccine will have zero side effects, but even at 11 cases per million doses administered, it is a very safe vaccine,” Messonnier said. She added that there are “huge efforts” underway to try to determine exactly what causes severe allergic reactions.
Coronavirus kills an average of 2,670 people in the United States each day, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, making the vaccine a “good value proposition,” Messonnier said.
According to the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, last updated in December, everyone should be observed for 15 minutes after vaccination to make sure they do not develop symptoms. People with a history of anaphylaxis should be observed for 30 minutes, the committee recommended.
The Committee also suggested that people who develop anaphylaxis after the first dose should not be given a second dose, as both drugs require two shots a few weeks apart for full effectiveness. The CDC study said that every vaccination site should have supplies like epinephrine ready to treat patients who could develop severe reactions.
“Fortunately, we know how to treat anaphylaxis, and we have provisions in place to ensure that at immunization sites, people who administer the vaccine are ready to treat anaphylaxis,” Messonnier said.